7 Godly Qualities Every Couple Should Desire
If it is your desire to grow in your relationship with God and with your spouse, then these godly qualities must be desired according to 2 Peter 1:5-9. Once these qualities are applied to your marriage you can expect growth and success in your relationship. As we examine this portion of scripture, we will extract “7 Godly Qualities Every Couple Should Desire.”
2 Peter 1:5-9 (NIV) states,
5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.
A husband and wife’s faith in God should be the foundation of their marriage. However, when you add to your faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, mutual affection, and love, you will be effective and productive in your marriage. Let’s briefly look at these 7 qualities to find out why you should desire all of them.
Goodness- the dictionary meaning of goodness is moral excellence or virtue. However, biblically, “goodness: in a man is not a mere passive quality, but the deliberate preference of right to wrong, the firm and persistent resistance of all moral evil, and the choosing and following of all moral good.” (Easton Bible Dictionary) This quality allows a husband and wife to look for the good in each other, as opposed to navigating towards the bad or what is wrong within the marriage.
Knowledge- this quality is critical to your advancement as a couple. Knowledge is information about various aspects of marriage. However, this quality works well together with understanding and wisdom. Understanding is how well you comprehend the information. Teachings can help you to understand information. Wisdom is the application of your understanding of a specific situation. It is your ability to apply knowledge effectively. Prov 4:7 states, “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore, get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.”
Self-control- this quality is needed because without self-control, you will become a slave to whatever controls you, whether it be food, lust, money or even your words. Desiring this quality and using the power of God through the Bible, you will be reminded of the truth in your moment of losing self-control and you will be able to make the right decision!
Perseverance- Perseverance is vital to growing in your faith and most importantly, in your marriage. God want us to persevere no matter what happens, so we have to learn how to overcome obstacles, difficulties, trials, and tribulation to experience victory in Christ. Desiring this quality and understanding that God rewards and blesses those who persevere will create opportunities for success in your marriage.
Godliness- or holiness or righteousness is a great quality to strive for as a husband and wife. At salvation, we were declared righteous, which is called justification. However, sanctification is the continual process by which God is actually making a person righteous. Righteousness is right living. Righteousness is putting into practice what we believe in our hearts. It is authentic. Husbands and wife should strive to be authentic in their marriage.
Mutual affection- Affection is about caring for and showing concerns to your spouse in the same way you would like to be cared for. The golden rule applies, "Do to others as you would have them do to you" (Luke 6:31 NIV).
Love- so much can be said here but this quality simply means you learn to love from an agape standpoint, which is from an unconditional or self-giving standpoint. 1 Cor 13:4-8 sums up this quality the best. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”
Now, here is the BIG connection! A good, knowledgeable, self-controlled, willing to persevere, striving to be godly, affectionate, and loving spouse, is a spouse that will push the marriage into great success and endless possibilities.
If it is your desire to grow in these qualities, get connected to like-minded couples who desire the same. The HC Marriage Enrichment Institute was created for couples just like you. Start you FREE trial to explore all the institute has to offer and you can be apart of the next LIVE monthly interactive training, “Expectations: The Key To Getting What You Expect.” Hope to see you on the inside!